Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Drops of Horror: First Libyan Horror Movie

IN the midst of murder and mystery an intricate tale of horror holds audiences in suspense. Entitled: Drops of Horror, its producers have affirmed that this is the first horror film to be produced in Libya. Drops of Horror being true to its name is played by nine young talented first time actors, Housam Shghaifa, Mohamed Farekash, Adam Bargathy, Ahmed Sewi, Hamza Osman, Nada Alrahaibi, Suaad Alnasify, Rewada Mohamed Said and Mowada Bushnaf. Most of them are students at Al Fateh Centre for the Gifted in Benghazi. Twenty-three-year-old Maye Bushnaf director and cameraman said: “It’s a unique first, a Libyan horror film produced by locally talented actors. The story line is set over two days of suspense with an intriguing twist and an Islamic moral to the story.”'Drops of Horror' was filmed in 2005 over a period of two months at the Al Fateh centre for the Gifted. It is a low budget production film of 49 minutes duration that was finally finished for release in November of 2006. Maye explained that her team intends to produce a sequel. However in order to do this they are looking for a partner, technically-equipped to produce and distribute high quality versions. Maye herself is not new to the camera although her background has mostly been photography for which she has won many awards, including ‘2007 best Libya photograph by students attending University in Mesratah’. Her photography has been regularly exhibited at Gar Yunis University, Garean, and Alsabri Cultural Centre, featuring the momentous eclipse seen here in Libya. Maye went on to say: “At a young age I always loved photography and used to practice making short films similar to the comedy programmes seen on television."Accomplished as a writer. Maye's 16-year-old sister, Mawada has recently written seven detective stories that are awaiting publication. As an actress and scriptwriter Mawada explained that her inspiration had been low-budget type Hollywood horror films.She went on to say: “I love films that create a reaction with an intricate story line. The last films I have watched along these lines have been SAW 3 and THE RING.”However Drops of Horror is different because it has an Islamic theme encouraging eleven to twenty-year-olds to pray regularly distinguishing it from Hollywood type films ". Although reluctant to reveal the mystery behind the story Mawada explained that Drops of Horror is set over two days. A group of students are struck by an evil curse. One by one each of the students are murdered without a trace, until the last student who while still alive discovers the source of the curse. Mawada added that copies of Drops of Horror will be available soon and that anyone hanging on with suspense will put this to rest.